Venetian blind bracket



Oct. 17, 1950 H. NELSON I ,5 6,393

VENETIAN BLIND BRACKET Filed June 4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORJ/arrg .li/elsozz M,MM

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ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 1 950 VENETIAN BLIND BRACKET Harry Nelson, NewYork, N. Y., assignor to Lorentzen Hardware Mfg. Corp., New York, N. Y.,a corporation of New York Application June 4, 1946, Serial No. 674,265

12 claims. (01. 248264) This invention relate to Venetian blinds, andmore particularly to a so-called installation bracket for removablysupporting the blind in position adjacent to a window or door.

A Venetian blind is essentially an assembly of superimposed slats, sosuspended and articulated together that the assembly can be collapsedand extended to raise and lower the blind, and that the slats can betilted to vary the light openings between them. Usually the assembly ofslats is suspended from a headbar on which is mounted the elevating andtilting mechanism. This arrangement permits installation and removal ofthe blind as a unit; and the usual practice is to removably support theends of the head-bar on so-called installation brackets which have beensecured to the window jamb.

Various forms of installation brackets are now in use. Some of them arequite satisfactory, particularly certain brackets used for supportingconventional wooden head-bars. However, certain limitations anddisadvantages inhere in the installation brackets heretofore used forso-called inclosed metal heads, such heads being metal head-bars whichare hollow and which inclose the elevating and tilting mecha-' eitherthe front or the side of the jamb of a window frame, which neatlyreceives the headbar without unsightly gaps, and which is composed ofparts adapted for manufacture by stamping from sheet metal.

My invention is clearly defined in the appended claims. In the claims.as well as in the description, parts are at times identified by specificnames for clarity and convenience, but such nomenclature is to beunderstood as having the broadest meaning consistent with the contextand with the concept of my invention as distinguished from the pertinentprior art. The best form in which I have contemplated applying byinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part ofthis spec-' ification, in which: L Fig. 1 is an isometric view of thebracket,

viewed from one side, with the retainer open; Fig 2 is an isometric viewof the bracket;

viewed from the opposite side, with the retainer open;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of with the retainer closed;

Fig. 4- is a 'top plan view, partially in section, with the retainerclosed; Fig. 5 is a left side elevation, with the retainer closed; Fig.6 is a right side elevation, with there tainer closed;

Fig. 7 is an isometric View of a fragment of. the retainer showing thepivoted end thereof ;j Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view taken on the;line 88 of'Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation ofthe upper right-handlcorner portion of the bracket, showing the retainerin partly opened position; Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, showingthe, retainer in fully opened position; Fig. 11 is an enlargedfragmentary side ele vation of the lower night-hand corner portion ofthe bracket, showing the retainer in nearly, closed position; Fig. 12 isa view similar to Fig. 11, showing the retainer in fully closedposition; and

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. '7, showing a modified retainer. Thebrackets are made and used in pairs, one bracket for the left-hand endof the headbar,- and one for the right-hand end of the head bar. Thebracket shown is for the left-hand end of the head-bar, and it will beunderstood that the other bracket of the pair is of the sameconstruction but of opposite hand.

The bracket consists of three parts, which for convenience will becalled the body, the retainer,

the bracket,

' and the pivot. The body, which is designated and a vertical marginalflange 20.

to the side of a window jamb; and flange 28 i provided with holes 22, 22to receive screws for securing the bracket to the front of a windowjamb. 'Between holes 22, 22 a filler is pressed forwardly a distanceequal to the thickness of the head of a round-headed screw such as wouldsometimes be used for securing the flange 29 to the front. of the windowjamb. When the bracket is mounted on the side of a jamb, there are noscrew heads at holes 22, 22 and the filler 24 then acts as a stop tocorrectly position the rear face of t e ead-b r.

The retainer I6 has a flange 25 pivoted'at I! to the upper right-handcorner of the plate I8.

Extending perpendicularly to flange 25 is aflange 25 which, when theretainer is closed, engages the front face of the head-bar and therebyretains the head-bar on the bracket. This flange may be transverselycorrugated to nest with fluting on the front of the head-bar, such asthe fluting shown in my copending application Serial No. 601,671,flledJune 26, 1945, now Patent No. 2,455,135.

The pivot pin I'I occupies'a fixed position in plate I8 and passesthrough a slightly arcuate slot 2'! in retainer flange 25, the slotbeing disposed as shown. This pin-and-slot connection allows theretainer It to move forwardly as it is swung into open position. Theretainer is provided with a laterally extending finger 28, and as theretainer approaches open position (see Fig. 9), this finger strikes anincline 29 which is formed on the upper edge of plate I8. As openingmovement is continued, the retainer I5 rocks about finger 28 and thefinger slides down incline 29 until the fully open position is reached;see Figs. 10, 1 and 2. This rocking movement about finger 28 providesstrong leverage tending to slide the retainer I6 forwardly on pin Il'.This forward movement is utilized in frictionally clamping the retainerin open position, as will now be pointed out.

As shown in Figs. '7 and 8, the retainer flange 25 is provided adjacentto the slot 2? with a zone 30 which is pressed laterally away from plate[8. When portion 21a of slot 2! engages the rivet ll, the retainer I6swings freely. However, as the retainer shifts forwardly, under therocking action of finger 28 on incline 2S, portion 21b of the slotengages the rivet and increasing I wedging or clamping pressure isapplied between the head of rivet I! and the plate I8. This holds theretainer in open position. With the retainers of both brackets held inopen position, one man can readily put the head-bar in place, havingboth hands free to handle the blind. By introducing a narrow band ofseverance s as shown in Fig. 13, zone 36 is subdivided into tworesilient portions 30a and 3% which improve the holding action inretainer-open position.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 11 and 12, the free end of theretainer It is formed with a springy integral latching tongue 3| havinga rounded nose portion 32. As the retainer is moved into closedposition, the nose engages the forward portion of flange I9 and thetongue is thereby flexed upwardly. In fully closed position the nose 32snaps into a rectangular hole 34 in flange I9 and holds the retainerclosed. The hole 34 lies close against plate I8. ing this hole that itwill extend a short distance up plate I 8 as shown, proper clearance forthe latching tongue is insured and visual inspection of the latchinghole is facilitated. As shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 1, theforward By so stampedge of flange I9 is rectangularly cut away at 35,.so that a screw driver or similar instrument usable as a lever can beinserted from beneath to pry the closed retainer into unlatch-edposition.

Fig. 3 shows in greatly exaggerated degree how the forward edge of plateI8 may be bowed to cause the flange 25 of retainer is to hug the plateI8. When rivet I! is set, it tends to so dis-- pose the retainer as tocause flange 25 thereof to extend along the line a:-y. Of course thebow-- ing of plate I8 is, in practice, kept so small that the retainercan be readily closed under the flexibility and looseness of parts whichexist. However, the bowing of the front edge of the plate biases thelower end of the retainer toward plate I8, thereby causing the retainerflange 25 to hug the plate despite a measure of looseness or looseningof the rivet IT. This not only insures a sightly appearance, butmaintains the retainer in proper lateral position for engagement oflatch 3| with hole 34.

It will be seen that the bracket is exceedingly simple, being composedof two sheet metal stampings and a rivet. The retainer hugs plate; [8,and filler 24 insures that there will be no appreciable gap betweenflange I6 and the for-,- ward face of the head-bar, The arrangement ofretainer I6, including its pin-and-slot connection, is such that it canbe readily opened and closed, even when mounted on the side of a jambvery close to the top of the window frame, and even when the head-barextends substantially t e full height of plate I8.

I claim:

1. A bracket for supporting a Venetian blind, said bracket comprising: aplate having a projecting lower flange adapted to support the headbar ofa Venetian blind, and a retainer swingably mounted adjacent to the upperfront corner of i said plate for retaining a Venetian blind headbar onsaid lower flange, said retainer having an inwardly-directed flangeoverlapping said plate in parallel relation when the retainer is inclosed position, and said inwardly-directed flange having a slotextending substantially across the lower portion thereof, forming arelatively long, narrow, resilient latching tongue at the bottom of saidretainer adapted to engage said lower flange when said retainer is inclosed position.

2. A bracket for supporting a Venetian blind, said bracket compri=ing2 arelatively flat plate having a projecting lower flange adapted tosupport the head-bar of a Venetian blind, and a retainer swingablymounted adjacent to the top front corner of said plate for retaining aVenetian blind head-bar on said flange, said mounting comprising a pivotsecured to one of said members and passing through a slot in said othermember, and an ext n-ion at he top of said retainer overlying the upperfront corner portion of said plate and adapted to engage said plateportion upon swinging movement of said retainer and thereby causerelative linear movement between said pivot and said slot.

3. A bracket for supportin a Venetian blind, said bracket comprising: arelativel flat plate having a projecting lower flange adapted to supportthe head-bar of a Venetian blind, a retainer for retaining a Venetianblind head-bar on said lower flange, and a pivot secured adjacent to afront corner portion of said plate and swingably mounting said retainerthereon, said pivot passll'lg through a slot in said retainer, and alateral extension, on the'retainer adjacent to the pivot of said plateupon pivoting movement of said retainer and thereby cause relativelinear movement between said pivot and said slot.

Abracket for supporti'nga Venetian'blind,

said bracket comprising: a relatively flat plate having a projectinglower flange adapted to support the head-bar of a Venetian blind, and aretainer swingably mounted adjacent to the top front corner of saidplate for retaining a Venetian blind head-bar on said lower flange, saidmounting comprising a pivot secured to one of said members and passingthrough a slot in the other of said members, material near one end ofsaid slot being adapted to frictionally engage the other member uponsliding movement to dispose said pivot at said slot end, and anextension at the top portion of said retainer overlying the upper frontcorner portion of said plate and adapted to engage said plate portionupon swinging movement of said retainer whereby relative slidingmovement to dispose said pivot at said slot end is effected uponmovement of said retainer to open position.

5. A bracket for supporting a Venetian blind, said bracket comprising: arelatively flat plate having a projecting lower flange adapted tosupport the head-bar of a Venetian blind, and a retainer having alaterally-projectin flange for retaining a Venetian blind head-bar onsaid lower flange and having an inwardly-directed flange overlappingsaid plate in parallel relation when the retainer is in closed position,said retainer being swingably mounted adjacent to the upper front cornerof said plate and said in- 6 Abracket for supporting a Venetian blind,said bracket comprisingz a plate having a projecting lower flangeadapted to support the headbar of a Venetian blind, a retainer swingablymounted adjacent to the top front corner of said plate for retaining aVenetian blind head-bar on said lower flange, said mounting comprising apivot secured to one of said members and passing through a slot in theother of said members, material near one end of said slot being adaptedto frictionally engage the other member upon sliding movement to disposesaid pivot at said slot end, and means, including an extension of saidretainer overlying the upper front corner portion of said plate and acooperating cam surface projecting above the upper margin of said upperfront corner, for effecting such sliding movement as said retainer isswung to open nonretaining position.

9. In a Venetian blind supporting bracket of the type in which avertical plate is provided with a laterally-projecting blind-supportingflange and a retainer has one end thereof swingably mounted adjacent toa front corner of the plate,

said bracket comprising: a relatively flat plate having a projectinglower flange adapted to support thehead-bar of a Venetian blind, and aretainer having one end swingably mounted adjacent to a front corner ofsaid plate fo retaining a Venetian blind head-bar on said lower flange,said retainer having an inwardly-directed flange overlapping said platein parallel relation when the retainer is in closed position, and saidinwardly-directed flange having a slot extending substantially acrossthe free end portion thereof, forming a relatively long, narrow,resilient latching tongue at the free end of said retainer and adaptedto engage a portion of said flange when in closed position.

'7. A bracket for supporting a Venetian blind, said bracket comprising;a plate having a projecting lower flange adapted to support the headbarof a Venetian blind, a retainer swingably mounted adjacent to the topfront corner of said plate for retaining a Venetian blind headbar onsaid lower flange, said mounting comprising a pivot secured to one ofsaid members and passing through a slot in the other of said members,material near one end of said slot being adapted to frictionally engagethe other member upon sliding movement to dispose said pivot at saidslot end, and means for effecting such sliding movement as said retaineris swung to open non-retaining position.

the retainer having an inwardly-directed flange overlapping said platein parallel relation when the retainer is in closed position; theimprovement which comprises said inwardly-directed flange having a slotextending substantially across it at the free end of the retainer,forming a relatively long, narrow, resilient latching tongue adapted toengage a complementary formation and latch the retainer in closedposition.

10. In a Venetian blind supporting bracket of thetype in which avertical plate is provided with a laterally-projectin blind-supportingflange and a retainer has one end thereof swingably mounted adjacent toa front corner of the plate, the retainer having an inwardly-directedflange overlapping said plate in parallel relation when the retainer isin closed position; the improvement which comprises one of said plateand inwardly-directed flange being provided, adjacent to theswingably-mounted end of the retainer, with a lateral ofiset operativeto set up frictional holding action between the plate and retainer, saidlateral oifset being inoperative when the retainer is in the initialstages of open- ,ing movement and becoming operative as the reflangebeing inclined and, upon closing of the retainer, coacting with saidblind-supporting flange.

to force the retainer upwardly.

12. In a Venetian blind supporting bracket of .the type in which avertical plate is provided with a laterally-projecting blind-supportingflange and a retainer is provided with an inwardly-directed flangeoverlapping said plate in parallelrelation when the retainer is inclosed position, the upper end of said inwardly-directed flange beingprovided with a downwardly-inclined slot pierced by a pin attached tothe plate;

the improvement which comprises the lower end.

2, 26, 93 7 8 of said inwardly-directed flange being inclined UNITEDSTATES PATENTS and, upon closing of the retainer, coacting with saidblind-supportin flange to force the retainer Number Name Date upwardlywith respect to said pin. Lmdemann 1936 HARRY NELSON 2,200,510LOIGIltZBIl May 14, 1940 5 2,255,32 Mintz Sept. 9, 1941 REFERENCES CITEDThe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

